A Bootle man was hit with a £100 fine by police after ‘nipping’ back to the shop with no face covering.
The incident, which happened on Roughwood Drive in Kirkby on Tuesday, February 23, was captured on camera.
Mobile phone footage shows two police officers issuing Twitter user @Scouse_Da_ with a fine.
In the video, he can be heard saying: “I carry masks, I do everything that I do, I play by the rules and I’ve made one mistake today.”
“I wear these, I carry these day in and day out. You got out of your car on toes and you wanted me then."
One of the police officers responds by saying: “Regardless of what’s happened, you’ve gone into the shop without a mask on. If you want to contest it then you can.”
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The Twitter user, aged 33 said he didn’t have enough money for his shopping so had to leave the shop and returned soon after with the correct amount.
It was at this point, as he left and returned to his car he was approached by two police officers.
Speaking to the Echo, the 33-year-old said: “It was totally out of order the way they carried on. There was no option of a warning, nothing like that, it was straight to the fine.
“It is to protect everybody, I get it and I play by the rules, but I made one mistake."
The man who is set to be hit with a £100 fine added: “Basically, I’ve gone in the shop and I had a bill of £23.50 and I only had £20 on me.
“So I didn’t have the £3.50, I left the shopping there, I jumped back in the car, shot home to get the money, nipped back to the shop, put the money on the counter and took my shopping.
“They’ve [ the officers] sat there and watched me go in the shop and come back out. You can see in the video I’ve got a bag, at least 15-20 masks there. Where’s the decency? Where’s the commonsense?
“I just made one mistake. At least try and stop me before I get in the shop but there was none of that, as soon as I walked out the shop, they were both out of the car and hot on toes to me.
"My parents are 75, I’ve got a partner who is due to drop a baby in seven weeks time.
“I’ve been out of work for seven months and I’m supposed to be self-employed. They didn’t even have a conversation with me, nothing.
“Unfortunately I wasn’t part of the self-employed group for grants because I have only been self-employed for seven months, so I was one of the lost.
"That’s part of the reason it made me so angry because I have got parents that I’m taking care of. At the same time I’ve got a baby that’s 12 months old.
“I ran in the shop and made a mistake and that’s why I said in the video ‘you came over to me with an intent’
“I was told a letter will be sent to my house saying I have broken the law and that I will be hit with a fine and I’ll either have to pay it or contest it. It just frustrates me. I always wear a mask in my local shop.”
A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: "We can confirm that at around 4pm on Tuesday 23 February, officers issued a Covid fine to a man in his 30s for entering a shop on Roughwood Drive, Kirby, without a face covering.
"This pandemic continues to place a huge strain on our NHS and in particular puts vulnerable people from our communities at great risk. Therefore, officers from Merseyside Police are enforcing Covid restrictions to ensure the rate of transmission is reduced.
"You can report any matters concerning COVID-19 and the current legislation to us on Twitter at @MerPolCC or through Merseyside Police’s website https://www.merseyside.police.uk/."
